Eagles vs. Bears

I look for a close defensive game on Sunday, with the Eagles comming out on top in the end. McNabb has played in an Eagles uniform four times in his native Chicago, winning all three games, that he has started. Donovan won in the 2001 season in the playoffs, completing 26 of 40 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns and he ran eight times for 37 yards and a score. He also won in the 2002 season and then again in 2004. Donovan has completed 67 percent of his passes this year for 838 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. With running back Brian Westbrook a game-day decision (he has a strained ankle) the responsibility is even greater for McNabb to put points on the board for the offense.
The Bears will come after him with linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, and the tough-to-run-against Chicago defense forces quarterbacks to throw the ball and take hits. This game is going to be a matchup of aggressive defenses. Chicago has lost a couple of very close games, most recently blowing a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter of a game they eventually lost to Tampa Bay in overtime. The Bears destroyed Indianapolis in Game 1 on the road and lost to Carolina and Tampa Bay since then. The Bears have Kyle Orton at quarterback and he has done a good job managing the offense as rookie running back Matt Forte has become the go-to player in the attack. Forte ranks fourth in the league with 304 rushing yards. Defensively, the Bears are 18th in the NFL in yards allowed, but they are 28th in passing yards permitted, allowing 249.7 yards per game. Tampa Bay threw the ball 67 times against the Bears last Sunday and the passing attack gained more than 400 yards.
You would expect, then, that the Eagles would crowd the line of scrimmage defensively and try to force the Bears to throw the football and then go after Orton, and you would expect the offense to be pass-happy against Chicago’s defense, but as we all know, what you expect isn’t necessarily what you get in the NFL; so, look for the Eagles to be as balanced as possible and get off to an early lead on Sunday Night. Then they need to hold on to that lead in the fourth quater to finish up the game, for the win.